Incline Railway

Following the Civil War, more and more tourists flocked to the sites of these famous battles. The problem was getting to the top of Lookout Mountain. It was a four hour horse and buggy to get to the top.

In November of 1895, a passenger railway known as "The Incline" opened to easily whisk visitors up and down the steepest part of Lookout Mountain.

John Crass and the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway Company, built an incline at a grade of 72.7%, making it one of the steepest passenger railways in the world.

The original coal-burning steam engines were replaced by two 100-horsepower motors in 1911. Other than that, the railway hasn’t changed much in over 100 years of operation.